


Romeo And Some Other Dude

by seraphina_snape



Series: gameofcards writings [12]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Brothers, Coming Out, Gen, boys expressing affection with mock fighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 23:23:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10774647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraphina_snape/pseuds/seraphina_snape
Summary: In which Dex accidentally comes out to his older brother.





	Romeo And Some Other Dude

**Author's Note:**

> Written for gameofcards Phase 10, challenge 08: Writing Pass It On (Song Edition); prompt: _Heart becomes whole when you give up the fight_ (Heather Nova, Everything Changes)
> 
> Davey is Dex's older brother. He's two years older, works on their uncle Duncan's lobster boat during the summer and does whatever he can get his hands on during the off-season.

"Billy-Willy! Look at you, all grown up." Davey wiped away a mock-tear and reached out to pat Dex' cheek. 

Dex ducked and shoved him away before he could make contact. Davey actually stumbled back a few steps, a weird mix of pride and annoyance in his expression.

"Looks like all that hockey is finally paying off, little brother."

"Or maybe Uncle Duncan isn't working you hard enough," Dex shot back.

Their eyes met and they both cracked up. 

"Yeah, good one," Davey admitted when they'd calmed down. Uncle Duncan was a slave driver and they both knew it. Everything needed to go faster and better and ' _now,_ Will, while that critter is still alive'. 

Dex leaned back into the worn couch cushions and closed his eyes. It was late afternoon and he was actually a little touched that Davey waited up for him. 

"You can go to sleep if you want," Dex offered. Uncle Duncan's boat was usually the first one out of the harbor and Dex always felt like he was going to fall asleep standing up during the summers he spent working on the boat.

But Davey waved him off. "Nah, it's fine. I crashed as soon as I came home, and I'll catch some more sleep after dinner." He slapped Dex' arm. "Tell me about college. How did your exams go? Did that one professor change your grade? How's the team?" He waggled his eyebrows. "Meet any cute girls?"

And just like that, Dex' good mood evaporated and the steel clamp around his heart tightened its hold. "Um. Exams went okay, for the most part. I think I fucked up on a few answers in my Foundations of Computing exam, but I won't know for sure until next week. Professor Collins did change my grade, but I had to hand in another extra credit paper and I spent that week walking around like a zombie because I slept maybe three hours total. The team's fine. We voted Ransom and Holster as captains and we're all determined to get the championship next time."

Out of the corner of his eye, Dex could see Davey look at him. They both had the same red hair, but Davey's eyes were dark blue. Working on the boat made Davey look older than his twenty-one years, and his tan skin made Dex look extra pale in comparison. The look on his face, however, was the same one Dex wore when he felt particularly smug.

"What?"

Davey shook his head. "Nothing. Except you carefully avoided the girlfriend question, so... Who's the girl, Will?"

Dex could practically feel the color rising under his skin, so he resolutely kept his eyes on the black tv screen and shrugged. "There is no girl."

"Right." Davey shifted so he was sitting sideways on the couch, facing Dex. "Come on, Billy-Willy, tell me."

"I don't have a girlfriend, okay?"

"Your mouth says you have no girlfriend, but your blush says you do." Davey knocked his foot into Dex' leg. "Come on, spill! Is red hair a hit with college girls? Do they like your hockey butt? Are you a heartbreaker now that the ghost of Ashley Flynn isn't hanging over you like a girl repellent?"

Dex closed his eyes.

"Hey," Davey said, his voice suddenly softer, "what happened? Did she break your heart? Am I gonna have to go and punch a girl for messing with my little brother's heart?"

"No," Dex said. The afternoon light made the world burn bright orange behind his closed eyelids, and Dex felt a fatal sort of resignation as he kept talking. He opened his eyes, though, because if he was going to set his whole world on fire, he might as well do it with his eyes open. "No, you don't need to punch a girl because there is no girl. There's never been a girl, Davey. And there won't be."

Dex watched as the puzzled expression on his older brother's face was replaced by dawning realization and then settled into something carefully neutral. "So I'm guessing you didn't just pick Samwell because they offered a full ride, huh?"

"Guess not."

"Since when have you known?"

Dex fought down the urge to laugh. So this was what it felt like. He shrugged. "Forever. Since Jerry's older brother started taking his shirt off to mow the lawn. Since Ashley kissed me and I pushed her away and went 'ew'. Since K--a guy kissed me and I wanted him to do it again. Since I was five and wanted to marry Captain America. Pick one."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Dex willing himself to keep breathing. Despite Davey's careful non-reaction, Dex felt lighter, somehow. Like he could do anything, now that he'd done this. Like he could text Nursey over the summer like he'd promised. Like he could go back to Samwell and finally attend a LGBTQ student association meeting rather than losing his nerve at the last second and spending the time in the computer lab instead. Like he could even tell his parents. 

"Fuck."

Davey's soft curse breaks through Dex' thoughts and he looks up, catching his brother's eye.

"Don't look at me like I'm _that_ asshole, Will, because I'm not. I'm just really surprised because I never thought--I mean, I just never--I don't even know any gay people!" Davey gave him a lopsided grin. "Apart from you, I guess."

Dex raised his eyebrows. "You do realize Mr. Collins and George aren't actually roommates, right?"

Davey's eyes go wide. "Oh. But they never--"

"What? Make out in public?" Dex rolled his eyes. "Neither does anyone else who's not a teenager, dumbass." 

Davey took a deep breath. "Okay, so I guess this is the part of this conversation where I tell you I love you because you're my little brother and that I don't care if you like guys. I don't know much about, you know, gay people, but--" He shrugged. "You're my kid brother, Billy-Willy. I'm not gonna kick you to the curb for liking dick."

"Yeah, don't hurt yourself," Dex muttered, his cheeks flaming. He grinned at Davey and kicked at his foot. "Thanks. I guess."

Then Davey was on him, trying to put him in a headlock, but Dex had put on some muscle during the year. The mock fight ended on the floor, with Davey's elbow striking the coffee table on the way down and Dex knee hitting the carpet with a crunch. 

"You little shit," Davey huffed, fighting his way into a sitting position. "Don't think this gets you out of telling me about your love life. I might have been wrong about who you were blushing about, but you were blushing about someone. So who is he? Computer nerd? Social sciences major? A tree-hugging hippie? A fellow jock?"

Dex tried to keep his face as neutral as possible, but Davey locked onto whatever twitch or flinch betrayed him. 

"A jock!" he crowed. "Oh, please tell me it's one of those lacrosse dudes. Romeo and Juliet - well, Romeo and some other dude, whatever - star-crossed lovers."

"It's not a lax bro - I have standards, thank you." 

As the conversation devolved into deflection (Dex) and heckling (Davey), Dex took a deep breath and let go of that tension he always carried. He let go of that little voice in his head that censored his words and sometimes his thoughts. He'd told someone and the world hadn't ended. Davey was still on his side.

He could do this. 

And maybe, if he could do this here, come out to his brother and his parents, then he could do it at Samwell.

**Author's Note:**

> George is their mailman and Mr. Collins is the grocery store manager. They've been 'roommates' for fourteen years and even being married these last three years hasn't made anyone in town refer to them as husbands. Such is the way of small towns. (Source: I'm from a small town and the gas station attendant H. has been married to his 'good friend' J. for four years now. *eyeroll*)  
> ______________
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.


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